Conservation

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Austin Fly Fishers Improving Local Fishing

Want better fishing at your local reservoir? Go do something about it. Austin Fly Fishers recently teamed up with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the City of Cedar Park to conduct aquatic vegetation plantings at Brushy Creek Reservoir. The 38-acre lake, in Cedar Park just north of Austin, is one of five intensively managed Austin-area urban impoundments that provides high-quality fishing opportunities.

East Coast Blue Crab Closure Ends Early

Recreational and commercial blue crab traps may now be placed back in state waters (shore to 3 nautical miles, including …

New Study Reveals Vulnerability of Sharks Commercial Bycatch

Researchers analyzed more than 10 years of shark bycatch data from the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico longline fisheries.

Coastal Conservation Association Inter-Chapter Challenge Sets Records

The Coastal Conservation Association Florida (CCA) held its annual Inter-chapter Challenge (ICC) June 20-21 at Jensen Beach. A record 197 anglers representing 19 local chapters statewide made the trip to fish the tournament at Jensen Beach, near Port St. Lucie.

Commercial Turtle Poachers Busted

Four men have been charged in the alleged illegal capture and exchange of 2,100 pounds of live, wild-caught turtles. A Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission investigation was launched in March after the arrest of My Van Vo, 31, of Lakeland, who was caught on Lake Apopka near Orlando with 87 softshell turtles weighing in excess of 500 pounds. The subsequent investigation throughout Polk and Seminole counties netted two other men and an Okeechobee freshwater turtle farmer.

New Projects Miss Opportunity to Jump Start Restoration in the Gulf

In June, a partnership of Gulf state and federal agencies announced they are approving $627 million in early restoration projects for Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Texas, as part of the Natural Resources Damage Assessment of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. This is another milestone in the process to restore the Gulf of Mexico. But the news isn’t all positive.

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Record-Breaking Catch: Weston Lands 153-Pound Alligator Gar on 2-Pound Line

On April 8, 2025, angler Art Weston reeled in an astonishing 153-pound alligator gar while fishing on Lake Livingston, TX

Pat Hutchinson Lands World Record Blue Catfish on Light Tackle

Pat Hutchinson set a new IGFA Women’s 3-kg (6 lb.) Line Class World Record with a 13.61-kilogram (30-pound) blue catfish caught on the James River in Virginia. The record-setting catfish struck her cut bait, and after a determined 22-minute battle, Pat successfully landed the fish. She weighed it on a certified scale before safely releasing it back into the river.

You Weren’t Meant to Live in Traffic

If you’re someone who dreams in tides, lives for casting lines at sunrise, and feels most at home with salt …

Big Trouble in Morehead City

    There’s nothing quite like the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, and the 2025 tournament reminded us all why …